“He’s got the whole world in his hands”
It’s the start of the sugar. Reading the prophets, there’s so much death and destruction, you hang out for the sweet stuff.
The land has been emptied, but this is about hope for the mountains. Hope starts with the land itself.
Disappointed pilgrims observed over the years that the mountains of Israel are no great shakes. It’s quite a harsh, stony, dusty land.
But god’s blessing will make it bloom, will return the people and have them flourish.
Rain will cleanse the land of spiritual betrayal, the idols. Rain, beautiful rain. We don’t get that any more here.
The people’s hard hearts will be replaced with hearts of flesh. Beating, living hearts.
In every sense metaphorical and literal, God’s wonderful unique creative power of life will abound.
Oh dear God, our land is not beyond your blessing, our hearts are not beyond caring.
As it dries, bakes and burns more than we’ve ever known, and we argue and blame, and build more coal mines.
Give us hearts of flesh, send sweet rain to wash us of our idols.
I wrote a song that used this passage for the chorus and Ephesians 4 for the verse. Goodness me, I’m a try hard! Almost 15 years ago now. Not one of my best, but the beating heart and the anticipation of the rain are there.
inheriting the earth 